Dear Bigelow Families,

The Bigelow PTO would like to welcome you all to Bigelow and the new school year.  Below are a few dates to get on your calendars to start the school year.

Grade 6 Orientation and Ice Cream Social – Tues. August 26 from 9am – 10:30am

SchoolKidz (Pre ordered School Supplies) Pick up – Tues. August 26 from 10:30am – noon (corridor along courtyard)

All School Picnic – Tues. September 9, 5:30pm – 7:30pm at Burr Park.  This year we will have two food trucks, so you do not have to worry about bringing food that evening.  If the weather does not cooperate, we will move the Picnic indoors to the cafeteria and the gym.

Grade 6 Parent Breakfast – Wed. September 17, 8am – 8:45am

Grade 8 Car Wash and Bake Sale – Fri. September 19 from 3pm – 5pm Bigelow Parking Lot

Grade 6 Parent Potluck – Fri. September 19 – Final time and location to follow

NO SCHOOL – Rosh Hashanah, Thur. Sept 25

Back to School Night – Thur. October 2 from 6:50pm – 9:00pm

First PTO Meeting – Fri. October 3 from 8:30am – 9:45am in the Library

Please note that a comprehensive school calendar can be found on both the Bigelow PTO’s and the Bigelow School’s web sites.

If you have any questions regarding the above events or any other items, please contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com .  We look forward to seeing you around Bigelow and enjoy this last week of summer vacation. ~ Your PTO Co Presidents, Jacquie Arbuckle and Carolyn Judge

If you ordered a SchoolKidz (school supplies) for your student through the Bigelow PTO this past spring, they can be picked up this coming Tuesday, August 26 from 10:30 – noon at Bigelow in the corridor adjacent to the courtyard.  They can also be picked up on the first day of school.  If you ordered a language kit, that is in a separate box (except for Latin).

If you did not order your school supplies through SchoolKidz, class supply lists can be found on the Bigelow Middle School homepage at http://bigelow.newton.k12.ma.us   Please contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you have any questions regarding your SchoolKidz order.

Dear Bigelow Families,

On August 9^th an email was sent from the Bigelow PTO asking families to confirm data for the student directory. Although the directory can include numerous emails per family, the confirmation can only go to the email listed as the primary one for the family.

If your family did not receive this email or you have any questions, please email the PTO at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com so we can be sure your family is listed.  

 

Thank you to all of you who have volunteered, donated, baked, sold, chaperoned, washed cars, organized, lead, met, chaired, cooked, bid and painted.  It is your contributions that make Bigelow a better place for our children.  We would like to thank the administration, teachers and staff that educate the students through out the school year.  We so appreciate your dedication and everything that you do for our children.

We congratulate the 8th graders and wish them well as they move on to ninth grade.  A special goodbye to those families that will be leaving Bigelow. We welcome the incoming 6th graders and their families.  Please let us know if you have any questions about Bigelow.  We would like to acknowledge the PTO board members who are leaving the school or stepping down this year:  Julie Bourgoin, Leslie Williams and Ted Everett.   And thank you to Jacquie Arbuckle who has joined next year’s board as co-president.

Again thank you to all.  Have a WONDERFUL summer and see you in September!!

Order your student’s school supplies for next year by 11 pm this evening.  We can not extend this deadline or take any orders after 11 pm.

We are offering this program as a service to the students and parents of our school and hope this makes your preparation for the new school year easier.  Why fight long lines and stress of trying to find every single requested item on your child’s supply list?  All of the shopping is done for you!

The SchoolKidz program:  

• Will save you time,
• Make “back-to-school time” less hectic
• Offers competitive pricing
• Avoid those impulse buys and long lines
• And Bigelow Middle School PTO receives a portion of the sales which will help fund programs like the Creative Arts and Sciences.

You can order the SchoolKidz now through June 22.  Orders can not be accepted after that.  Click here for more information.

All kits will be delivered to the school and can be picked up after the Open House on Tuesday, August 26th or the first day of school – details to follow.

Go to:  www.shopttkits.com and enter acct #32972.

If you have any questions, please email us at Bigelowbulldog@gmail.com.

Click here to Buy a Book

Please contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Attention graduating 8^th graders! Books for sale!

All Newton North students have required summer reading. This year’s book is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

 For your convenience, the Newton North PTSO will sell copies at Bigelow. Cost: $13 (cash or check payable to New England Mobile Book Fair).

Before the graduation ceremony: Wednesday, June 18, 8:15-9:00 a.m., gym entrance

After the graduation ceremony: Wednesday, June 18, 10:45-11:15 a.m., outside the main office

Newton North PTSO volunteer jobs available!
The Newton North PTSO has several openings for next year. Newton North depends on the generosity of parent/guardian volunteers to help keep our community informed and stay connected. Please consider helping out! Questions? Please contact Sally Brickell and Lynne LeBlanc at co-presidents@northptso.org.

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Board positions
We are fortunate to have a nominating committee to help with the process for the following Board positions:

Co-president
Work with other PTSO co-president and committee chairs to run Newton North PTSO. Strong organizational, people, and technical skills needed. Previous PTO experience is a plus, but not required. Time commitment: 10-15 hours per week.

Programming Chair
Work with current chair and with co-presidents to determine PTSO meeting content and arrange logistics. Attend PTSO board meetings (every six weeks during the school year).

Treasurer

Treasurer responsibilities begin August 1st and extend through July 31st.   Track income and expenses for all PTSO activities. Responsible for Massachusetts and federal non-profit filings.  Learn and use state-of-the art membership software. Use Quicken and Excel to keep financial records.   Interact with all PTSO committees and some teachers and Main Office staff.

No experience necessary (current treasurer will help as needed) just a commitment to maintaining accurate records. Time commitment: 5-10 hours per week.

Non-board positions

Newsletter editor
Help PTSO co-presidents arrange content for the weekly e-newsletter, Tiger News as well as post stories on PTSO website.

Class liaisons 2018—one slot left for a Bigelow parent!
Provide support to class of 2018, help organize one faculty breakfast per year, help class advisors and students with one major event per year, help PTSO solicit volunteers, help Counseling Department with class-specific series.

Parent outreach
Provide two new parent/guardian gatherings – one in the fall and one mid-year. Help PTSO with outreach to new families.

Just Think: Teens Making Smart Choices
Help PTSO organize yearly Just Think: Teens Making Smart Choices expo (January); provide outreach to and liaison for North community with local and some national non-profits.

Student-Faculty Administration
Attend weekly morning meetings with students, faculty, staff, and principal in a non-voting but advisory capacity to help determine school policies.

Webmaster
Help current webmaster with technical oversight of PTSO website. Knowledge of Drupal programming helpful but not required.

 

 

As the school year comes to an end, are you looking for a way to say “Thank You” to the people who make a difference at your children’s schools?

TOMORROW EVENING, please join us for our last Bigelow PTO meeting for this school year and a thank you for your tremendous volunteer service on Wednesday, May 28, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., at Julie Bourgoin’s house, 44 Whitney Road, Newtonville. Appetizers and beverages will be provided. All are welcome to attend. If you can join us, please respond so we can ensure that we have the proper seating and snacks by emailing jbourgoin@comcast.net or calling 617-320-0040. We do hope you can make it.

We have one formal piece of business at our meeting that evening and that is to vote in a new slate of officers for next year.  If you are interested in serving on the board next year, we would love to have you.

It is not too late if you are interested in being on next year’s board. WE NEED A COUPLE MORE PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER.  Ideally we would love the following on the board to help share the work load.

• Co-Presidents (2-3 Positions)
• Vice Presidents (2 Positions)
• Co-Treasurers (2 Positions)
• Co-Secretaries (2 Positions)

A couple of new faces have indicated their willingness to serve as Vice Presidents next year; Beth Panella and Lex Van der Ploeg.  Thank you!!  We also have three members of this year’s board indicate their willingness to be nominated and serve again next year.  Carolyn Judge, Co-President, Vicki Spetter, Co-Treasurer and Vicki Ritterband, Co-Secretary.

Click here for more information on the responsibilities of these roles   You can also contact bigelowbulldog@gmail.com or call Carolyn at 617 794 6436 with any questions or to volunteer.